If you’ve ever looked at your bag of coffee grounds or coffee beans and have noticed the words: “100% Arabica Coffee” and have been a bit confused; this article is for you.

In the world of coffee there are two different primary species of the coffee plant: Arabica and Robusta. I would be remised if I didn’t tell you there were several dozen other coffee species, however, we are only going to focus on these two primary ones. My plea today, is that you always choose to drink coffee that is from the Arabica species.

Robusta beans are very easy to produce, and in turn, result in less flavor diversity and potential. It is much harder and requires much more work to grow Arabica beans, and for that reason, they often have a more delicate and refined taste.

Robusta beans are created at low altitudes which makes for a much easier process to make beans in mass quantities. Robusta farmers also use mono-cropping which is the act of growing the same exact plant consecutive years in a row in the same exact place. This erodes the soil and demolishes nutrients that eventually make the soil nearly unusable.

The problem also exists due to the fact that large coffee companies will simply clear out large amounts of rainforests and plant Robusta beans since they can be grown nearly anywhere.

So here’s the deal about Robusta beans: it’s cheaper for companies and results in a crappier cup of coffee for consumers.

Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
AND I FOR ONE–AM GLAD YOUR JOB IS BEING DONE. DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. IMAGINE–BIG CORPORATIONS DOING SLASH AND BURN AGRICULTURE!